Thousands of Kern's children enrolled in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

The Kern Literacy Council is celebrating the completion of its first year working in partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Kern County.

What does that mean for local children?

More than 8,000 young children have been enrolled in the program so far, with close to 100,000 books already given to local kids. And organizers expect enrollment to grow each year.

"We started this program in September 2023, so we're about one full year into the program," said Ian Anderson, the nonprofit's executive director.

"What's really cool about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is it's an international program," he said. "Dolly has given out over 200 million books worldwide since it started."

There are no income requirements for families who want to get involved. It's designed to benefit all children, from birth to age 5.

Each child receives one new book sent to their home each month. Children age out of the program when they turn 5.

"Our goal with this program is to eventually reach all children in Kern County, zero to 5, so about 65,000 children," Anderson said.

Nearly 13% of the 65,000 are currently enrolled, and organizers are determined to grow with each succeeding year, said Alyssa Enriquez, an office administrator and the council's DPIL program coordinator.

"My son was born last year, a couple of days before we launched," Enriquez said of the local start-up of Imagination Library. "He was our first sign-up, so he now has 12 books.

"It's had a really good impact on him," she said of little Jacob. "We read to him and he's around books every day."

It's been encouraging watching it grow, she said. The council holds outreach events to promote enrollment all across the county, from Lost Hills to Lamont, Maricopa to Mojave.

For many years, the literacy council was known as the Kern Adult Literacy Council because it focused only on adult literacy. But no more.

"We serve everyone from zero to 99," Anderson said. "I see this as a literacy safety net program.

"Our core programing is basic adult and child education, so it's reading, writing, math."

The council's volunteers provide one-on-one tutoring services throughout the county at partner sites, such as county library branches and community centers.

"We have a citizenship class, high school completion-GED, career soft skills (that help people interact effectively with others in the workplace)."

On Thursday, the council's Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Sustainability Committee met at the nonprofit's 18th Street offices — and Rachel King, senior regional director for The Dollywood Foundation, was there.

A report was created from the meeting that showed DPIL enrollment by ZIP code. It divided the categories into three basic groups: Areas with strong enrollment, areas with moderate enrollment and areas in need of focused enrollment efforts.

While there are strong areas in metro Bakersfield, many other areas appear to require attention.

And while many smaller outlying communities, such as Shafter, Delano, Taft and Rosamond already have a good start, other communities such as Tehachapi, Lost Hills, Edison and communities in the Kern River Valley have few children enrolled.

Nevertheless, organizers are encouraged by the results in the first year, and they are targeting a minimum 5% increase in Year 2 and each year following.

"Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is now 1 year old in Kern County and it has seen amazing growth," the Dollywood Foundation's King told The Californian in an email.

"This strong network of community partners working toward the same goal will lead to the program continuing to go from strength to strength," she predicted.

"Thank you to all involved for supporting Dolly's dream that all children grow up in a home full of books."